I want to say, that the Sitar #1 video contained more information than I received from my teacher in the first 3 months of my instruction. And you put it across in such a knowledeable and comfortable manner. One can tell immediately that you have as tremendous command of Indian music and are wonderfully pragmatic at the same time. I look forward to your forthcoming videos.
Many thanks!
Kurt
Dear Batishs,
Few months ago I have purchased your video tutor (#2) on sitar. I am quite impressed with it and practising sitar playing with the help of it.
Thanks for purchasing our video tutor. I'm very happy to hear of your progress. Re. your question...
However I am having some problem with chikari strokes. When I am striking
the chikari and main string (first one) in sequence, I am striking the
3rd and 4th main strings inadvertently and they are making undesirable
noise. Is there a way or method I can avoid this. Though with some
practice I could minimize it, but could not eliminate this. I would
appreciate your kind response.
I would really like to see how your sitar strings are spaced. But practice does have a very large role to play in the ultimate chikari sound. You might check your right hand's position. Sometimes it does not sit high enough over the wires so your mizrab will strike almost all the strings.
The other problem could be the mizrab. Make sure it sits snugly on your finger and does not extend more than a quarter of an inch beyond your finger tip.
Some sitar players will simply remove the offending strings. I don't recommed this route as there are some distinct advantages of having the strings there.
You might also like to send me a short video of you playing with a closeup of your hands and I could make a better suggestion.
Also, I am looking forward for your
forthcoming video tutors on sitar. Please email me in this regard.
Thank you. Did you buy the tutor through our Institute? If not, you might like to send me your postal address and I'll put you on our mailing list. We will inform you when the new ones are ready. But I will also put you on our email annoucement schedule.
All the best,
Ashwin Batish